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28 November, 2009

Sorrell Hill always has a special meaning for me because it was the first IMRA race I ever ran, way back in 1999. However, all sappy sentimentality aside it is a memorable race because it is a classic course and as Jim Fizharris pointed out in his course description, it is one of the few races that has not changed over the years and therefore it is possible to discuss course records etc. Last night was not one for records with lots of slippy mud ,though I have to say the ride from the track to the forest edge has been cleaned out and is a lot less treacherous than in previous years when there always seemed to be logs lying around ready to trip you.
The wind was blowing all over the registration area in the parking field which Charlie has secured for us, which greatly simplified logistics. Showers had fallen throughout the day and there was every reason to expect more during the race, however they never materialized and the weather was not really a factor on the night. As previously mentioned, the ride is much cleaner and runnable as Barry Minnock led the way followed by Peter O?Farrell and the usual suspects. I saw Bernard Fortune back with the mid-pack folks but it turned out he had gotten a late start and quickly worked his way through the whole pack.
Once out on the open mountain the cool part about Sorrel Hill emerges because the entire field is visible for such a large part of the run. As we slogged through puddles and slipped in the mud we could see bodies way in the distance climbing the steep cone to our final destination. Those faraway figures became more separated as Barry Minnock established a substantial lead over Peter O?Farrell at the turnaround and held it for a comfortable 30 second win. (Perhaps skipping the weekend in Mayo kept him fresh.) In the woman?s race Fionnul Doherty, in black, led to the summit with Bronagh Ni Bhriain in white just seconds behind. I was too far back to see , but somewhere the white shirt ran down the black and Bronagh held on for her first victory. Orla McEvoy , on her fist run back from injury had a great run for third place among the women.
William Coffey had a close 8 second win over Jimmy Synnot for the M40 and Jean Bader and Ger Power took the honors in the F40 and F50 categories. Danny Toye bested Brendan Doherty for the M60 win and Mike Gomm kept it going in the M70 group. As it turned out I was the first M50 to the top , but my jet lag and lack of recent experience descending muddy bogs (that sounds like a good excuse) prevented me from holding off Eddie Ried who passed me early on during the return and ran strongly to the finish for the M50 victory. And as for Vivian, who lurked just behind me out of sight and then snuck by at the bottom of the ride and then legged it down the road, I have to say I will be back to get you next time.
Great work by newlywed race directory Gerry Lalor and his crew, things ran like clockwork and a fun time was had by all on a muddy windy night in Western Wicklow.


Barry Minnock almost led Rathfarnham to a 1-2-3 clean sweep but Eoin Keith spoiled the party! The Defence Forces had their best performance to-date with three runners in the top nine for a good victory over GEN and Sli Cualann who finished equal on points but Gavan Doherty?s superior finishing place gave GEN the edge. Clonliffe women had a narrow win over a Crusaders team led by newly returned Orla McEvoy (welcome back). In the overall, Rathfarnham and Clonliffe have extended their leads.


Women?s teams
170 Clonliffe (Bronagh Ni Bhriain 44, Fionnuala Doherty 47, Maura NiChearbhaill 79)
207 Crusaders (Orla McEvoy 54, Bronagh Gavigan 85, Emma Sokell 88)

Men?s teams
7 Rathfarnham (Barry Minnock 1, Peter O?Farrell 2, Aaron O?Donohue 4)
24 DFO (Gary Kelly 7, Donal Burke 8, William Coffey 9)
41 GEN (Paul Nolan 5, Alan Ayling 16, Gavan Doherty 20)
41 Sli Cualann (Tony Collins 6, Jimmy Synnott 11, Cormac O?Ceallaigh 24)
59 Unwilling wanderers (Richard Healy 10, Robert Healy 14, Matthew Kenny
35)
177 Ajax (Paul Smyth 13, Justin Rea 62, Brendan O?Connor 102)
248 Sportsworld (Henny Brandsma 73, Sean O?Byrne 84, John Fitzgerald 91)



<b>Over LL Club Results</b>
Available by clicking <a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/LL2007cluboverall1-11.htm">here</a>